Improvement in obtaining fiber from waste felted fabrics



UNITED STATES J. F. GREENE, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR 'ro s. B.TOBEY, OF

PATENT OFFICE.

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN OBTAINING FIBER FROM WASTE- FELTE D FABRICS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 23,642, dated April1'2, 1859.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J OHN F. GREENE, of Brooklyn, in the State of NewYork, have invented a new and Improved Process for Obtaining Fibers fromWaste and Refuse Felted Fabrics in suitable Condition for being Workedinto Felt and other Fabrics; and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

Many attempts have been made to disintegrate felted fabrics of fur andof wool so as to obtain from old and worn felts, and from the clippingsproduced in the manufacture of hats and other felts, the fibers in acondition suitable for being used as a part of the stock in themanufacture of felts and other fabrics; but prior to my invention, sofar as I am imformed, all such attempts have been unsuccessful, for thereason that in tearing apart such old or waste felts the fibers were socompletely broken and destroyed as to be of no value in the productionof other fabrics.

The object of my invention is to so disintegrate old felts and theclippings of new felts, or felts which for any cause are of little or nouse in the arts, that the fibers thereof may be obtained in a suitablecondition to be employed to advantage in admixture with new fibers inthe manufacture of felted or other fabrics, whether of wool or fur; andto this end my said invention consists in subjecting the felts which areto be disintegrated to the action of steam preparatory to and incombination with the action of suitable machinery for picking andtearing it apart to separate the fibers from each other, the action ofsteam on such fabrics having the effect, as I have discovered, ofloosening that hold or interlocking which the several fibers have, andwhich was produced in the original formationof the fabrics by what isknown as the felting action, so that when so loosened or unlocked thefibers can be separated by the mechanical action of a picker.

If the felts to be disintegrated consist of the clippings produced inthe manufacture of hats are of old hats or other felt, which have beenpaid over or saturated with shellac or other mastic cement or glue, Ifirst steep them in a solution of sal-soda until the gum, resin, or

other cement is thoroughly extracted. lhe

and twenty gallons of water. I boil the feltsto fix the gum, &c.,instead of extracting it;

After steeping the required length of time I draw off the liquor andwashthe felts in clean water and dry them; but if the felts have not beencoated or saturated with any like cementing substance it will not benecessary to treat them in this manner. I then steam the felts to bedisintegrated, so that the steam shall thoroughly penetrate, and whileso saturated subject them to the action of some suitable picker, bywhich the fibers are pulled apart, which will be done with comparativeease so long as they are steamed. After the fibers are delivered fromthe picker, they are to be passed through a suitable blowing-ma chine tobe sortedthat is to say, the fibers which are entirely free from othersare to be separated from the lumps, consisting of an aggregation ofnumerous fibers, which lumps are then to be again subjected to theoperation of the picker and blower.

Although I do not wish to limit myself to the use of a steaming andpicking apparatus or machine, or to a blower of any specialconstruction, nevertheless I prefer the use of machinery constructedsubstantially in accord ance with the descriptions and drawings makingpart of two applications for Letters Patent of even date with this, onebeing for a machine for tearing up waste and refuse felted fabrics, andthe other an improved blower for separating the fibers fromdisintegrating lumps and impurities.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent.is-

Subjecting the felts to be disintegrated to the successive and combinedaction of steam and picking, substantially as described, the steamhaving the effect either to unfelt orso loosen the hold which the fibershave on each other in felted fabrics that they can be drawn apart ofsufficient length to be advantageously employed in the manufacture ofother felts or other fabrics.

JOHN F. GREENE.

Witnesses:

WM. U. BROWN, WM. H. BIsHor.

